ENV-326 Environmental Sustainability in Tropics
In this course, students explore the difficulties
and rewards of pursuing an environmentally
sustainable culture, while focusing especially on
two of Costa Rica's most pressing challenges:
tourism and agriculture. Students will both be
ecotourists by engaging in some of the typical
tourist activities (e.g., zip-lining, rafting,
canopy walks) and analyze the effects of their
tourist activities. They will also explore the
complexities of an economy and national identity
based on ecotourism. In addition, students will
observe and investigate the complexities of
agriculture by studying both the implications of
unchecked grazing and industrial agriculture, and
the movement toward sustainable practices such as
organic and polyculture farming. Students will
complete a research project based on their
studies.
Prerequisite
Instructor permission is required.